Are you receiving disputes from your customers’ insurance providers for your ADAS calibrations? You’re not alone—plenty of calibration, repair, and collision centers have to deal with the occasional pushback. However, if you want to get reimbursed for the work your technicians have done, it pays to know what the insurance companies are looking for.

Explore more about navigating ADAS repairs and insurance.

What to Know About Auto Insurance Payouts for Your Work

You probably didn’t get into the calibration or repair business to navigate the insurance process. However, interacting with insurance companies is a natural part of the process and allows you to receive payments for the work you’ve done, and it requires a thorough review before and after you complete your repairs.

These are the steps you’ll need to take with virtually any situation where you’re requesting reimbursement.

Identifying Issues Requiring Calibration

This requires diving into manufacturer position statements, job aids, service info, and your team’s experience servicing these types of vehicles—all while cross-referencing each repair order during the diagnostics process.

If your team is experienced enough, they may be able to review the car physically and see which systems require calibration. However, a good way to provide a thorough inspection is to use trusted industry software to find every system that needs work.

Justifying the Work

Justifying your ADAS calibrations is essential for receiving the reimbursements that keep your business running. Providing justification shows the insurance companies what the vehicle needs based on the requirements set out by the OEMs.— Demonstrating that the calibrations are necessary to guarantee a complete and safe repair for your customers will ensure you get paid for your work. The key to justification is providing the right references, whether it is a position statement, service information, or a combination of both.

Common Reimbursement Obstacles

Many insurance companies are starting to push back on ADAS calibration work because they don’t understand the time and expertise required to properly complete these repairs. On top of this, unscrupulous businesses have historically taken advantage of insurance companies to get more money.

Up until the last few years, ADAS calibrations have been somewhat of a mystery for some insurance companies. However, as these calibrations become a common repair procedure, better standards are becoming established in order for reimbursement to be paid. If insurance companies don’t see the right justification, they are more likely to dispute reimbursements.

Agencies are more likely to dispute reimbursements due to:

• Lack of documentation
• Lack of photos or video
• No references to manufacturer literature
• Not enough detail on the necessity of the repairs

However, that doesn’t mean the insurance companies aren’t willing to work with you. By having the right resources available, you can be reimbursed for your technicians’ work. Three major factors can help you get there.

The 3 Keys to Reimbursement

1. Education

While some auto insurance providers are familiarizing themselves with the nuances of ADAS calibrations and why more vehicles need them as part of the repair process, many are still learning. That’s why educating them and providing information about the calibrations you need to perform is pivotal.

Provide information about the repairs you need to perform early and often. Use documentation such as:

• Official OEM literature stating how each part of the ADAS affects the vehicle’s performance and safety
• Pre-calibration assessments, with videos and other recordings
• Detailed, documented reasoning for why each repair is relevant to your work order
• Explanations on how each repair (or lack thereof) can affect the vehicle’s performance or the need for future repairs

Transparency goes a long way with insurance providers. By educating them on the necessity of each calibration you need to perform, you’ll foster trust early in the process.

2. Communication

Along with providing all the documentation you have that’s relevant to the required repairs and calibrations, you also need to explain why it’s needed. As Jeromy Guerra, NEX Automotive’s head of operations, put it in our webinar, “You can’t just hand it to them and expect them to do it.”

Be prepared to explain and highlight the reasons for the work order, down to the finest details if necessary. Giving the adjuster and other points of contact at the agency the specifics of the necessary work subtly indicates that you’re trying to do right by their customers.

This goes hand in hand with education. By communicating what’s necessary to keep the vehicle safe, you’re more likely to receive reimbursement without disputes. Lean toward overcommunicating, especially in the earliest stages of your interactions with insurance providers—they’ll appreciate it.

3. Relationships

Establish rapport early in your interactions with insurance providers. Being accountable with documentation and recordings to justify claims can help with this, especially during the initial phases and with smaller or specialized agencies.

Like any relationship, your professional interactions with providers take regular maintenance, honesty, and eye-level communication to cultivate trust. It may also take time, so be both transparent and patient from the start—the adjusters you work with will notice and appreciate it.

Documentation You Need

1. Initial Check-In Photos

The paper trail that will help you demonstrate the necessity of your repairs starts from the second your customer’s vehicle rolls into your shop. Take photos of all four corners of the vehicle, areas where it sustained damage, and the mileage on the odometer as soon as you can.

2. Pre-Scan Reports

Tracking the reports from before the vehicle undergoes calibrations or repairs is essential for being able to justify the work your technicians do.

3. Pre-Calibration Checks

As part of your overall repair workflow, you should always check the tire pressure, fuel weight, and other specifications relating to the vehicle’s systems. In turn, if the insurance provider disputes the need for your repair work, you can demonstrate that you covered all facets of diagnostics before moving forward.

4. Alignment Pre-Checks

These won’t be required for every repair you do, but they can also help insurance providers understand why your services were necessary for the safety and function of the customer’s vehicle.

5. Procedure and Process References

The original equipment (OE) service information is an integral piece of information that insurance providers are looking for. This demonstrates that you’re complying with the manufacturer’s specifications to keep the driver and passengers safe.

6. Calibration Setup

In many cases, this may seem like more information than you need to provide. However, by showing that you’ve done the work to make sure your calibration systems are set up properly, you illustrate that you’ve done the work necessary to keep the vehicle safe and in working order.

7. Post-Calibration and Scan Reports

This shows that you conducted any needed ADAS calibrations properly and provides one more reason that your repairs were necessary, thorough, and designed to protect all involved parties.

8. Invoice and Cost Breakdowns

This is the bare minimum of what you should provide to your customers’ insurance adjusters. By itemizing your invoice and showing the rates you provide for each service, you demonstrate why you’re charging the prices you provide, and demonstrate that you’re only billing them for the minimum necessary service they need.

Still Not Sure How to Navigate Those Relationships?

Hear from some of the industry’s top experts on how to get the payments you need from auto insurance agencies. Sign up to watch the webinar on demand today! Still have questions? Connect with our remote experts—we’re here to help you with all things ADAS calibrations.